Sorting out real estate data, politics

Zach Scott, chief operating officer for Point2 Technologies, a real estate technology company based in Saskatoon, Canada, expects more mobile tools for real estate and richer Virtual Office Web site experiences on the horizon. VOWs allow greater consumer access to real estate data but face an uphill battle against the more established Internet Data Exchange (IDX) standard.

Hear Scott speak during the Real Estate Connect conference in San Francisco, which runs from Aug. 5-7.

What do you see happening in the real estate market in 2009?

Greater consumer demand for real estate information.

Greater demand from Realtors to have the technology they require to deliver more value to consumers online.
Rich VOW experiences.

More expansion into mobile space for consumers and Realtors.

What advice do you have to help real estate agents and brokers get through this market?

Strengthen relationships with buyers and sellers and hang on -- the economy will recover.

Audit the services you use to ensure they're delivering the value you're paying for in a measureable way.

Take advantage of listing syndication to get your listings in front of the largest audience possible online.

What made you join your current company?

As a family we decided to move to Saskatchewan, and Point2 was first on my list of employers. Real estate is fun, too.  I think we're sitting at an inflection point in the change curve for the real estate industry, and it's exciting to continue to bring more and more valuable services to the market.

What's been your biggest challenge in running the business?

Changing our mindset from a bottom-up, technology-driven organization to a top-down, business-driven organization: Like many technology companies, our roots are in tech, and it's difficult to strike a balance between making tech and innovation a key part of the company without letting it drive everything. ...CONTINUED

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